I opened the Facebook ‘others folder’ this evening and saw the following mail:
“Hi Kalyan, you probably hear this a lot , but I feel I ” know” you as I’ve been reading your
blog and on various food forums for several years… Where I’ve mostly been a silent reader!
Recently I was researching some Parsi recipes for a show I host for xxx, a web portal and your blog was one of the first ones I went to!”
Regards,
R”
I normally don’t share mails I get from folks but this mail seemed just the answer and
reaffirmation that I was seeking.
Coincidentally I saw this mail just when food blogger Monika Manchanda asked on twitter why
why one should start a food blog and the following was my
answer:
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@GautamGhosh @monikamanchanda don’t bother unless u r really passionate about food.Blog if you want to share your love for food. Not for SEO
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People often ask me who my ‘team’ on Finely Chopped is.
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There is no team, I write everything myself. And yet there is a team!
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I guess everyone who is a part of my life and is a part of my stories is my team. My wife is my team. My vada pav guy is my team. The two men who allowed me to join them on a packed night at Tunday is my team. The Chinese lady selling noodles on a cart at the Penang market whose son in law is Indian is part of my team. My grandmom is my team. As is my late grandmother in law. My poha guy is my team. Bunkin Banu is my team. The bhel wala at Charminar who insisted I have his sukha bhel and not pay if I don’t like it is my team. My vegetarian friend H who lent me his camera with which I took pictures of suckling pig, steamed hilsa and scampi malai curry is my team. My Marathi friend M who takes me to her favourite joints is my team. Sylvia, who ensures that my order is always taken in Candies is my team. My friends K and M who woke up early to take me Tiretti bazar for the Chinese breakfast is my team. My mom is my team. As is my mom in law.
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If we have a chat on food or if we eat together you are part of my team for you have given me a story which brings sunshine to my life.
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For me, Finely Chopped, has always been a place to tell my stories from the world of food. I’ve not really bothered to base my writing on SEO searches or trends or do listicles. I don’t plan to.
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I can do that because it is my space and I can tell the stories I want.
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Those who want to listen stop by. Those who don’t move on.
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When you are working with others then they have their goals. Everyone is in a hurry. It is the age of templated burger joints, and that too ‘the best 42 burger joint in your city’,and not slow food when it comes to likes and shares on social media and that’s what marketers want.
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Your blog is where you can lovingly spin a yarn over hours in a cast iron pot.
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When you are working for others they might not have the time or patience for that.
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You man up and press the microwave button then.
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It's a very interesting topic that you have raised Tarina. The most spoken about bloggers on social media are those who 'review' restaurants or write about new restaurant PR driven meals
The most active blogging circuit though is that of recipe bloggers. This is dominated by NRIs and many of whom document cultural memories which help them connect with each other and make the recipes special
As far as fascinating recipes go, if they don't have a context, then one has to work on building a blog seen as a source of interesting and unique recipes
The key to remember is that it takes time to build a blog just as cooking a great recipe does. So keep at it and do exactly what you want to do.
Blogging is still so new to me Im learning as I go along. What I find interesting is what stories interest people. I am often so wrong as to what would get someones attention. A small little post about a cultural nuance gets a lot more attention than a well thought out post about a fascinating recipe. I hope to keep learning 🙂
"…you can lovingly spin a yarn over hours in a cast iron pot" Loved it! I have a blog on Kolkata called 'Kolkata Curry' for more than nine years. And it often takes me hours to put up a post the way I like it. I found precious support to my vision of blogging (Write what you want to write) in your blog post.
Thanks Anirban. Heading out in search of your blog